Flexible drive transmission for motor vehicles



A 1953 A. P. TURNER ET AL 2,647,

FLEXIBLE DRIVE TRANSMISSION FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed May 10, 1948 4Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. #rchrZQ/c/ P 7217-2267; Hawaiian 6. B/z/ma/yATTO RN EYS g- 1953 A. P. TURNER ET. AL 2,647,416

FLEXIBLE DRIVE TRANSMISSION FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed May 10, 1948 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. fire/afield? 722/226); Hamz'izon BIZ/2725673,

ATI'CI RN EYS Filed May 10, 1948 Aug. 4, 1953 A. P. TURNER ET AL2,647,416

FLEXIBLE DRIVE TRANSMISSION FOR MOTOR VEHICLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTDRNEYE A. P. TURNER ET AL FLEXIBLE DRIVE TRANSMISSION FOR MOTOR VEHICLESFiled May 10,1948

Aug. 4, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 a Rem w 0 im M 3% QM.

ATTU RN EYE traction Patented Aug. 4, 1953 '1' OFFICE FLEXIBLE DRIVETRANSMISSION FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Archibald P. Turner and Hamilton G.Blumberg, San Antonio, Tex.

Application May 10, 1948, Serial No. 26,134

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to the general class of motor vehicles orautomotive vehicles, of the stub axle type utilizing driven steeringwheels, and more particularly to a power plant including a flexibledrive transmission for automobiles and trucks having a motor reversemechanism for forward and reverse drive of the vehicle.

From the power plant of a four wheel vehicle power may be transmittedand applied to the two front steering Wheels as hereinafter illustrated,and in addition, if desired, power may also be transmitted and appliedto the two rear wheels of the vehicle; in either installation numerousgear mechanism of many existing automotive vehicles is dispensed withand the transmission of power is simplified.

In carrying out the invention dual driving mechanism is employedincluding mechanical means and fluid pressure driving means for thewheels, and self-lubricated flexible driven shafts convey rotary motionand power to the two front driving and steering wheels of the vehicle.

A minimum number of standardized parts are employed which may withfacility and low cost of production be manufactured, and the parts maybe assembled with convenience, to equip a vehicle with smooth operatingparts that are durable and reliable, and which may manually becontrolled for facile maneuvers of the automotive vehicle.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction andcombinations and arrangements of parts as will hereinafter be described,and more specifically set forth in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings we have illustrated a physical embodimentof our invention in a, four wheel vehicle having a front steering wheeldrive, in accord with one mode we have devised for the practicalapplication of the principles of our invention. It will however beunderstood that changes and alterations are contemplated and may be madein these exemplifying drawings and illustrated structures, within thescope of our claim without departing from the principles of ourinvention.

Figure l is a view in side elevation at the right hand front portion ofan automotive vehicle equipped with the power plant of our invention,and indicating the push-button electrical controls for the transmissionof power; and Figure 2 is a similar view at the left side of the vehiclewith the left hand flexible shaft broken away 2 and the right handflexible shaft applied to the inner side of the right front wheel of thevehicle.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the clutchhousing and driving gear housing, and showing in full lines the fluidpressure or hydraulic differential gear case; at line 3-3 of Fig. 5.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view at line 44 of Fig. 3disclosing the dual sprocketchain drives for the two front wheels; andFigure 5 is a horizontal sectional view at line 55 of Fig. 3 depictingthe differential fluid drive mechanism for the right front wheel.

Figure 6 is a detail View of one of the rotors of the differential fluiddrive mechanism; and Figure '7 is a transverse sectional view throughthe extension shaft and its tubular shaft of the differential drive onthe line 1-1 of Fig. 3, and

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view through the reversing gear box atthe front of the motor or power plant. 7

In order that the general arrangement and relation of parts may readilybe understood we have shown in'the main-assembly views, chassis or frameF of suitable type upon which the motor M and the radiator R are mountedat the front of the vehicle, wheel W, the front axle A with its springB; a rear electric starter S for cranking th motor when the dual drivingmechanism is in forward. drive, and a front electric starter S forcranking the motor when the reversing mechanism has been shifted forreverse drive, and the usual ball bearings or anti-friction bearings areindicated at D. With two starters the shifting of the reverse mechanisminto operative or non-operative position is eliminated should the motorneed cranking when the reverse mechanism is in operation. Otheraccessories or appliances for the operating parts of the equipment areshown, but not described, as they do not have direct bearing on themechanisms and appliances of the invention.

In this physical embodiment of the invention, the disclosure is confinedto the power plant located at the front of the vehicle for propellingthe vehicle through the two front steering wheels at the opposite endsof the front axle A, and the same dual drive may be applied to the tworear wheels of the vehicle, or both the front and rear wheels of thevehicle may take power from the dual driving mechanism of the powerplant.

The motor M of the power plant is equipped with a longitudinallyxtending crank shaft or main engine shaft I, which as shown in Fig. 5extends to the rear of the motor M, and is equipped with a suitableclutch 2 and ring gear 3 activated by the rear starter S, the clutchbeing located in a housing 4 attached at the rear end of the motor M.The clutch is provided with a throw-out or control lever 5 and slidingspool or collar 6, and its shaft 6a is flexible jointed at l to anaxially alined extension shaft or power shaft 8, suitable bearings Dbeing provided, for the shaftsas indicated.

A transversely arranged, upright drive housing 9 is rigidly bolted atthe rear side of the clutch housing, and provided with.-a .detachable..cover plate i0, and at opposite sides of, the. longitudinal center ofthe vehicle, two laterally spaced, parallel splined jack-shafts i land'lZia-re 15 journaled in bearings D of the housing. As-here; shownshaft H is designed to furnish.-motion' and power to the left hand frontwheel; shaft I2 is designed to supply power to the rightiha-nd? frontwheel; and if desired power may be taken off these" twoshaftsdontransmission. .to': two-rear whee s'of thegfour wheelvehicle.The-lefthand front wheelie drivenfrom;-shaft. ll throu h a gear coup-1econstantly; in :mesh including gear 1 3 1 keyed-.011 the shaft is rand il. on stubshaft 15; 2 mounted in thethickenedinner wall,of-.the. drive--housing, and a, sprocket wheel it on shaft 15, and a sprocketchain-11,on;thewheel.- i6 conveys power, to the-large sprocket". wheell8 to-rotate1 th rjackshaft lll-inx-itsbearings D, U

Thetright hand jachshaft I2 is similarly driven fromisprecketwheelj I9rigid with=thetubular shaft 23 concentric with and rotatable 'onshaft.8, through;.sprocket'achain=20 that passes around thewlarger.sprocketwheel 2i, on-thc jack shaft or. power takesoff shaftn I2,

For allowing. thewheels at: the: sides of the vehicletorotate-atrelatively different speeds, as in. turning a corner, aghydraulic orfluid. pressure coupling-is nclosed within acasing 22inade up of twobolted sections, and rotatableat-the rear sideofjthedrive-housing 9. Forthis purpose the power shaft '8 .is provided-witha tubular. concentric,shaft 23:.rigid. with. sprocket. l9, and. the danger. .endof shaft disbolted against the-inner face of the-,rota-ryhousing-creasing2lhthatisy' provided with radial vanes 2d: The. tubularshaftfltis-providcd with akelfidhub, and rotoror wheel. including: thecomplementary radial vanesfifi which is driven ,by the impeller vanes Eliot the rotary; housing through the motive fluid, asthicle. oil, or,grease-within the-impeller housingthatrotates withthe shaft 8;

Whendesired, and to prevent spinning-of the fluid drive, the impellercasingand the rotorare lockedtogether by means of'foun-slidebolts orpins Bit-radially disposed about-shaft 3; ingtheouter wall oftheimpeller. casing-crhousing, for. engagement in complementary socketsitaof the hub of the-,rotor 25, The pinsor bolts are, rigid with a crosshead Zland its slide collaror' spool 28 that lnanually-operatedin;..suitable manner;

The two-front .steeringwheels W are. connected together. by theusualsteeringrigging indicated. at G, and poweryfol'-the.-right.hand frontwheel is taken off the jack shaft I2. by aself-lubricated. flexibleshaft indicatedwas-a wholeby the nu-. meral 29, .whiletheleft hand wheelis driven from jack shaft. i l .by a-duplicate.flexible shaft. 39... Theforkend or. yoke arms38 and 391 of-th.e axle- A are swiveled by knucklejoints lfirandthe axle is bracedby the usual radius rods...

At'theforwardend gofithepower plant of the vehicle anelectricallycontrolled motor reversing mechanismfor'the engine'shaftorcrank shaft'l t and for the timing mechanism of the usual cam shaft,are enclosed within a housing 56 that is bolted to the motor andprovided with a removable front plate 54a as seen in Fig. 1.

A second, electrically operated starter, for the reversing mechanism, isindicated at S for activating the ring gear 55 on the shaft l, and thefront extension of the :shaft is equinpe with a' pu'lleydiffer the fanbelt that rotates the usual fan 58 at the rear of the radiator R; andinaddition the usual belt drive 55 may be employed for the. air-coolingfan 58.

Foncontrolling the rotation of the cam shaft 6d a forward drive sprocketand a reverse drive pinion-areoperatively mounted thereon within thecasing or reverse housing 54. The reverse drive. piniontl is constantlyin mesh with the reverse timing gear 63, and the forward drive sprocketbehind pinion SE is connected with the forward timing sprocket;by thechain 520. (Fig. 8); Thispermits-the clockwise rotation of the camshaftat all .times.

The timing; gear and sprocket are mounted upon aconventional cam.shaft-extension be tween spaced.retainingplates. and the assemblyissecured and iretainedrby; means of a headed bolt? 68. that 'isthreadedin: an axial socket in the end of the cam shaft.

For alternately couplingpr clutchingthecranlr shaft to timing; sprocketBland-gear 3, a shiftable aciutchdisl; H isprovided which isengaged bythe-fork oryoke '15 of a clutch lever 58 that extends through a-slot inthewall of the reverse gear-housing; and :is pivoted at H, and the pushand pu-l'lqrod Edispivoted at l8 to the outer free end of the clutchlever.

The rod 53 may be manually, operated tcshi-ft thaclutch disk Htoprevent'changeof thedirection ofrotation-ofthe cam. shaft d l whenthe.

engine is-driven-re wrsely, In-one direction of movement, the. dislrllwill be clutched toithe sprocket 52 .to drive the. cam

direction of movement the disk will be clutched tothegear fi3rtodrivethe-camshaft in .thesame clockwise direction when the engine crank shaftis reversed for driving. the vehicle in reverse direction.

In l adiagram; of the. electrical wiring is shownforelectricalappliancesand devices ineluding, a grounded battery; is with push button controlson the dash board, as til for the starter 3 and lltfor the starter SQespectively which as previously-stated.will-crank the engine ineitherforward or reverse-drive.

Various. other mechanical and electrical devices and appliancesnecessary for complete equipmentand smooth 'operation of the automotiveVehicle are shown-, but as they are not necessary for an understandingof R1113 invention they are not herein described.

Having thus fully. described 1 our invention, whatwe claim as'new anddesire to secure by LettersPatent is:

In drivingmechanism for. automotive vehicle having a motor. shaft. twospaced power take-off shaftaflerdbledrive shafts-connesting. the.output. shafts. to the. wheelsof. the vehicle,thecombination with the.motor shaft of a counter shaft, agear couple between the shafts,

a tubularshaft concentric with themotor shaft.

and aflsprocketchain drivebetween the tubular shaftandonetake-ofiishaft, a sprocket chain. drive between;thecountershaft'and the other" take-off" shaft, and'a flexible inot-ivefluid drive shaft clockwise for forward direction of. the vehicle,and-in the other 5 at the rear end of the motor shaft for coupling themotor shaft and tubular shaft.

ARCHIBALD P. TURNER. HAMILTON G. BLUMBERG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 595,708 Forsyth Dec. 21, 1897 10 718,303 Bassett Jan. 13, 19031,095,132 Thomson Apr. 28, 1914 1,273,519 Millington July 23, 19181,301,232

Debauge Apr. 29, 1919 Number Number Name Date Kane June 10, 1919 EggertJan. 16, 1923 Klimek Oct. 30, 1928 Douglas Aug. 11, 1931 Opolo Feb. 11,1936 Alden Mar. 30, 1937 Perkins Aug. 20, 1940 Maze Sept. 8, 1942 JuskyJuly 4, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Feb. 23, 1928

